The Night Crew
by The Wammy Girl
Summary: In honor of Talk Like A Pirate Day, a treacherous tale of... um... treachery on the high seas!


**_A/N:_** Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day! -ahem- In honor 'o this momentous occasion, I wrote all 'o ye this story. Eh, what's that ya be sayin'? Another story, even when I haven't made good on me promises to finish me 'ol ones? AHAHAHAHA~! Well, yer right. I'll get to it as soon as me work allows! On the fresher side 'o the meat, me drabble publishin' re-starts tomorrow! ('s long as nothin' terrible should happen ta me)

English Gentleman's Note: I would just like to note that this is entirely fictional. Having been a pirate, I can say that the writer's only sources of research were pirate movies, pirated movies, and a picture of a guy wearing a pirate hat. She hates research, so she couldn't be arsed to do any.

**Ye 'Ol Disclaimer:** Neither me nor me crew own Hetalia. The Dreaded Himaruya would gut us if we said otherwise!

(O.O)

The grey water splashed grimly on the side of the boat; like a drumbeat, like a heartbeat. The dark clouds had gathered, the night had fallen, and the night swabbies had come out. The night swabbies were a fearsome lot, but no one knew what they did exactly. Some rumors said vampires, others suggested psychos; but the Captain refused to answer anything about them.

I know, though. About the night swabbies, I mean. A cook's work is never truly done, so I work a lot like your common sort of housecat. I make a meal, I sleep, I make a meal, I sleep, I repeat until we dock. This being the case, I've seen my fair share of both crews. And I can tell you, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the night crew is nothing the rumors say. I could even go so far as to say that the day crew is more frightening. The day crew is full of fugitives, killers, and downright nasty people who need somewhere to work and hide. I mean, don't misunderstand me, they're nice enough, and they'll do all sorts of chores for spare food. But the night crew, and don't repeat this to a soul, is harmless.

Ya see, Captain Iggy decided a long time ago that his night swabbies would never survive if the day crew knew this. So he fashioned rumors of a fearsome crew who would attack on sight, to keep his much tougher day-men at bay. And who better to distribute said rumors than me, the Captain's good friend from way-back-when and trusted cook aboard his ship? Not going into detail, they bought every single gory tale the Captain and I made up.

Back on the subject of the night crew: it's made up of four guys. The first two are brothers, same in the bravery department, but complete opposites in personality. Romano, the older brother, talks tough, but he's afraid of more things than most. The younger one, Feliciano, is scared of his own shadow and not too shy about it. He's always clinging to Ludwig, which brings us to the next guy. When he first showed up, he wouldn't talk to anyone; it took Captain's direct orders to get him to open up. Now, the thing about Ludwig is that he could be on the day crew if it wasn't for one thing: he's really effeminate. The last dude was the first to figure this out, his name's Kiku. He's from out east, and he's polite and good in the ways of medicine.

We get along pretty good, but maybe it's just cause I'm one of the only wenches on the ship. You'll meet the other wench in good time, but you should know that she's a fearsome one not interested in striking any manner of deal with the crew. Speakin' of that, the sun's startin' to set. The night swabbies'll be out soon, so I best get to cookin' their food.

.X.X.

As the sun sank below the horizon, Kiku stood and strode over to the line stretched across the room. He took down the kimono hanging from it and started to tie it around himself. Saltwater wasn't the best to wash clothes in, but he couldn't stand to wear filthy clothes like almost all the other crew members. He cast a glance over to the thinly blanketed mountain that was Ludwig. He was a heavy sleeper, but he never overslept. The stoic man was a conundrum, Kiku had concluded. But he was good-natured; he washed both his and the Vargas brother's clothes. Kiku wasn't that kind, and he didn't have that much spare time either. He was a good worker, make no mistake about it, but he was... not as strong as Ludwig. No one on the night crew was as strong as Ludwig, nor were they as diligent, silent, or tall. But Kiku knew why Ludwig would never join the upper-deckers, the day-workers, the "angry people" (as Feliciano put it). He was effeminate; he was absolutely in love with cute things. You would never know it by looking at him, but you would know after living with him. Kiku was unsure of the confusing man's sexuality, and he wasn't about to pass judgement either way.

Ludwig was always clean, and he was always cleaning. He kept his clothes clean and neatly folded in a corner, and he could always manage a smile for a pouting Feliciano. For such a intimidating guy, he was actually pretty nice. Romano, on the other hand, was the complete opposite.

Romano was short, angry, and willing to fight the world. He would attack if he even thought someone might be thinking about looking at him funny. In short, he was a firecracker. A loudmouth firecracker that pretended not to care, but actually did. Kiku was sure everyone else knew this, but no one dared bring it up for fear of Romano's terrible wrath. Romano hated Ludwig, claiming that he could take care of his younger brother much better than Ludwig could. This was false, as Romano also hid behind Ludwig when he panicked. Despite this, Ludwig still washed both of their clothes.

That only left Feliciano. Feliciano was too childlike for it to be possible; and yet it was possible. He was naive, innocent, helpless, cheerful, and easily scared or manipulated. He trusted what anyone said, even if it was obviously false. He couldn't win a fight to save his life, but he could cheer anyone into winning against someone twice their size. Feliciano was even more confusing than Ludwig.


End file.
